Days in the Life
by Solitaire Emerald
Summary: A collection of oneshots that follow our favorite Storybrooke residents as they go through their daily lives.
1. Chapter 1

**These oneshots are in no particular chronological order; just a little somethings that I hope you enjoy. Also, I would have posted this much earlier, but my computer was being a pain and not letting me log in.**

**As usual, I don't own anything.**

Erik woke up to a feeling of warmth against his back. While he did have a small fire lit in the little cave, it wasn't nearly enough to keep him as warm as he was now. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and rolled over. In front of his eyes was a mass of black fur. Then the glowing eyes of a wolf met his.

"Ah!" he exclaimed as he staggered to his feet, sword in hand. The wolf, however, did nothing and simply continued to look at him. His eyes darted down to the floor where he saw a crimson red cloak. "_mon Dieu_, you nearly scared me half to death," he said with a sigh of relief as he sheathed his sword. He walked over to the cloak, picked it up, and then draped it over the wolf. A moment later, Red appeared, smiling at him. "What in the world where you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you," she replied.

"Well, now that I'm a wanted man, I can't exactly stay at the opera house anymore, can I? So now I'm on the run, a fugitive, if you will. What about you?"

"I found you here sleeping. It's been cold lately and I didn't want you to freeze up. So I kept you warm."

"I appreciate the thought…" he slumped down the wall into a sitting position. "…right now I could use a little warmth." As Erik sat there, arms crossed and head facing the ground so that all one could see of his head was the black brim of his hat, Red walked over and sat so close to him that their shoulders were touching. Then she leaned her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his. He made no sign of objecting to the action. Then they both drifted off to sleep again. When they awoke, neither of them mentioned what had happened and never did.

OoOoOo

Ruby still remembered that night. She had even thought that maybe they could be together, even if she couldn't sing like Christine or was a pretty as her. After the Curse came, those feelings planted themselves in her heart again, when they knew each other as only their Storybrooke counterparts. Still, when she looked in his eyes, he knew that he could never love anyone else, even if he had let her fly away. But he was happy, and true friends are happy when their companions are happy.

"Ruby?" a voice called. Standing at the door was Christine and Meg, who were ready to order lunch.

"Hey," she replied with a smile, "great to see you."


	2. Chapter 2

Erik stood in the pit of the Storybrooke Theatre. Except for being a little bit smaller, it was almost completely identical to the Opera House in the Enchanted Forest, including the glittering chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. It was at least an hour since the theatre had closed, but luckily he had quickly memorized the underground passageways of Storybrooke, allowing him to traverse just about anywhere in town whenever he pleased. Though he had already known that his lair was intact, he wanted to make sure that the building deserved its title as a respected theatre. And as much as he didn't want to compliment Madame Mayor, he had to admit that it certainly did.

Then he heard a sound. It was beautiful and pure, like a songbird's. There was only one woman whose voice sounded like that.

_Think of me,_

_Think of me fondly,_

_When we've said goodbye._

_Remember me,_

_Once in a while please-_

"Christine!" He cried. He felt as though his heart had leapt out of his chest. In a moment of pure giddiness, he leapt onto the stage, not even thinking about what he was doing.

And there she stood before him, her blue eyes wide in shock, still just as beautiful as he had remembered her. _Damn it_, he cursed to himself. He had completely forgotten that Christine had her memories rewritten, just like almost everyone else in this town. Why did he act so impulsively?

"I-I'm sorry," he said averting his eyes from hers. "I didn't mean to startle you. It's just… you're voice… it's… exquisite. In tone, structure… perfect in just about every way. But it is clearly… untrained. And, beautiful as it is, without proper training it can't reach the full potential that I know it can. Now, if you are willing, it would be my pleasure to give you lessons. But, please, I must insist that you keep my anonymity. You don't have to answer right away. Again, I'm apologize for startling you." Just as he turned away from her, she stopped him.

"Wait!" she said, "What is your name?"

"…Erik. My name is Erik." _And I love you._


	3. Chapter 3

Erik was looking in every nook and cranny of his lair, making sure not a single object was out of place. He had already misplaced his mask and didn't want anything else to be lost. And nothing was; from the black coffin to his organ, everything was as if it were back in the Enchanted Forest, even the underground lake. There was, however, much to his displeasure, something quite important missing.

The mannequin.

It wasn't just any mannequin that one could swipe from the nearest department store. No, this was one that he had painstakingly painted the features on its face and wove every strand of hair into its head with his own hands, making sure that it was the striking image of his beloved Christine. The wedding dress should not be forgotten either. No, he didn't make that himself, but he had spent countless hours searching through the finest stores looking for a gown that would truly emulate her beauty. And now it was gone. But he did have an idea of where it could have been.

He made his way to Mr. Gold's shop and found it rather quickly in the back of the store. Luckily, it had been untarnished.

"Mr. Gold," he said, "I believe that there is something that is rightfully mine."

"Really now?" Gold replied, "In that case, you can have it for $100 instead of what I'd usually charge, which is $150. Of course, that's only for the mannequin itself. If you want the gown with it, that'll be another $150. Still, I'd usually charge $200. Take it or leave it. Plus, I want to make sure that your intentions are not… incorrect with the mannequin"

Erik made a dissatisfied face. He couldn't believe that he expected to hand over $250 for something that they both knew belonged to him. Also, what did he mean by "incorrect"? Did he mean… okay,what kind of sick person did Gold think he was?

Of course, the way the town is, no one else would probably buy it from him. Still, maybe he could use the underground passageways, sneak into Gold's store after hours, and steal it. No, he couldn't do that; Madame Mayor would almost certainly find out and have his head for it. Besides, he promised himself and Christine that he would change, which included to stop stealing things, even if it was rightfully his and that person he was stealing from was Mr. Gold.

"Very well, monsieur," he finally said. He reached into his jacket, pulled out two one hundred dollar bills and a fifty dollar bill, and placed them on the desk.

"Pleasure doing business with you, dearie," Gold said. Erik walked over to the mannequin, swept it in his arms as though it were actually his bride, and was about to walk out the door with it when Gold stopped him. "Would you like me to drive the two of you back home? I know you don't know how to drive. It's free, I promise."

Erik gave a smile. "Don't worry. I have my own ways."


End file.
